🎁Early Christmas Sale 70% OFF🎄 ZT 0450 Dmitry Sinkevich Flipper

No one can refuse such a cool gift! Great for collection or for daily use!

ZT 0450 Materials

Like the ZT 0900 that Steve Villarete shared with us last week, the blade is made from S35VN steel. This proprietary USA manufactured steel by Crucible Industries introduces a material that I’m familiar with, but you may not be: niobium. Niobium was used in the construction of the race wheels for my bicycle. It’s an element that adds toughness to the material and what allowed my 195 pound self to still race on ultra light wheels. It does the same thing for knives. S30V was touted as one of the best, if not the best knife steel for a while, but the S35VN is heralded as being even better for edge retention, machinability, and resistance to breaking.

The ZT 0450 handle is made from titanium. Stronger than steel, this material is also lighter. It also offers better corrosion resistance than steel or aluminum. It does suffer slightly as a handle material in that it will scratch easier than steel. However, the lighter weight makes it a top choice among premium knives.

ZT 0450 Design and Function

There are two sides to the ZT 0450. Opposite the frame lock, it has an appearance of elegance that is better suited to clip on to suit pants rather than jeans. It seems to have a better fit as a gentleman’s pocket knife in that regard. Flipping it around and deploying the blade causes me to reminisce about James Bond. The two sides are very much the difference between the “sipping on a vodka martini, shaken not stirred” Bond, and “I’m here to assassinate you” side. I absolutely love this split personality design. Since the clip is reversible, you can decide which personality you want people to see when it comes out of your pocket. On the back near the lanyard hole, you’ll find just a touch of red. Whether that’s a nod to Sinkevich’s Russian roots or just a splash of color to draw the eye, I love it.

I found just one flaw on the Zero Tolerance 0450 and it’s unfortunately an unavoidable part of the owner experience. The frame lock is oversize, taking up a little more than two inches of the handle. With the pin detent in the lock, many right handed users (myself included) will inadvertently push that detent against the blade, making it very difficult to deploy. However, you can overcome this by adjusting your middle finger down to the clip so the pressure is removed. It was a little awkward at first. After about 10 minutes of practice it became a very comfortable position to hold. I know many people will disagree with me feeling that I should bring down the rating some for that, but I don’t mind an adjustment that so easily became a natural hold for all my EDCs.

Now that we’ve overcome the detent, let’s talk deployment. The 0450 is a manual flipper that benefits from the KVT bearing system. The action of applying pressure to overcome the holding power of the detent then transfers into a wonderfully smooth and fast opening. I checked it against one of our favorite EDC’s ever – the Kershaw Blur that features SpeedSafe assisted opening. The KVT bearing system on this knife was consistently faster in deployment than the Blur. Did I mention that it’s smooth? Oh, so smooth!

With such a substantial frame lock, it’s no surprise that locking is extremely solid. Even deploying the blade as gently as I could, it fully locks into place without danger of failure.

ZT 0450 Specifications

• Deployment System: Manual, KVT ball bearing
• Locking Mechanism: Frame lock
• Clip Positions: 2, tip up
• Clip Style: Deep carry
• Blade Material: S35VN, stonewash and satin finish
• Handle Material: Titanium, stonewash finish
• Blade Length: 3.25″
• Closed Length: 4.1″
• Overall Length: 7.4″
• Weight: 2.9 ounces
• made in the USA

We have our own factory in Oregon City, Oregon, USA, and can ship to your home within 3-7 days.